Something new is starting on campus. It is not a club or group, but rather a get-together that will happen at least once a month. It will be a time for Eastern students to watch a movie and then discuss it together, under the event name Movies that Matter.
The first movie, The Wooden Camera, will be shown at 8 p.m. on Sept. 27 in Doane C lounge. Sophomore Robyn Simmons is looking forward to watching and discussing the film. The movie is about Africa and she would like to be a missionary there. “I’m interested to talk to other people about their views about things that are going on there, and what we can do as Christians to help them,” said Simmons.
Professor Kevin Maness, the organizer of Movies that Matter, said there is no set place where the movies will be shown. He is hoping for each movie showing to feel a bit impromptu and for the residence halls to become involved. The movies will always be shown in a residence hall, so people may come who might not want to hang out in the gym or auditorium, according to Maness.
Senior Mark Porter attended a few movie showings last year. “We watched Lifeboat. We discussed it a little,” said Porter, “Afterward, there was food. It was a lot of fun.”
Maness desires to be just another person in the crowd during the movie discussion. “This is not an overly didactic thing,” said Maness, “but it will be educational because students will hear other points of view.” He wants people to have fun and enjoy themselves.
Simmons also thinks discussing the movies will be beneficial to students. “Whenever I have discussion with other people it makes me rethink my beliefs,” said Simmons, “It makes me want to find a reason why I believe it.”
Thus far, a Facebook group has been created for Movies that Matter and a few students have responded, saying that they are coming to the first showing. “Students will get more involved once it actually starts,” said Maness. In the future, he would like to see the students pick the movies, and possibly even get the faculty or staff involved.
Movies that Matter will have a spontaneous feel to it. Maness says if something happens in the world, they could tie that in, or they could possibly view movies that connect with issues that are being learned in the classroom.
For the future, he would like to see a staff or faculty member pick a movie that impacted them in a great way and then tell the attendees how it affected them.
Mikaela Brown 
Sophia Hunter 
Jayme Fisher